Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina has approved an extension of registration of privately owned dams with a safety risk by another 30 days.

This follows the Minister’s approval for the extension of government gazette notice published on the 29 November 2024, calling for the dam owners to register their existing dams with a safety risk within 60 days, as mandated by Chapter 12 of the National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998), along with Regulations 2, 3, and 37 of the Dam Safety Regulations (R 139 of 24 February 2012).

Since the published notice in November, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has received numerous enquiries regarding the call for private dam owners to register their dams, applications for classification and for updating of registration information. Some of the applications have since been turned back to the owners for correction.

The Department has also received many requests from different stakeholders and organisations representing the farming community to extend the 60 days of registration period.

The Minister has subsequently approved the extension of the government gazette by 30 days, and this to allow the owners of the dams with a safety risk to verify their dam’s parametres accordingly, in line with the definition in the National Water Act. The extension has been granted from 29 January until 28 February 2025.

Mr Wally Ramokopa, Head of Specialist Unit: Dam Safety Regulation at DWS has encouraged dam owners who are already registered to update their details and those who have not registered to submit their registration and classification forms.

“The dams to be registered are those with a vertical wall height of 5 metres and a storage capacity of 50 000 megalitres. Those dams may store water or any other substances,” he said.

Mr Ramokopa added that the Department will continue to roll out multimedia campaign to raise awareness about the importance of dam registration with the aim of ensuring that all dams with safety risks meet compliance standards to reduce potential harm to people, property, and the environment.

The campaign is also aimed at maintaining an accurate database of dam ownership and safety compliance for effective regulation and risk management.

Dam owners are required to continue to update their details if already registered and submit registration and classification forms if not yet registered. Forms can be downloaded from the Department’s website at www.dws.gov.za/dso or collected from the nearest departmental offices.

For more information on dam registration contact: Specialist Unit: Dam Safety Regulation at damsafety@dws.gov.za or Ms Mokgadi Modipane at 012 336 8015 or Ms Makgano Tlaka at 012 336 7352